Electrical board/PCB repairs

[Tigris]

Hi guys,

I currently have a computer repair/IT support business for small businesses and domestic users.

Just gathering some thoughts on repairing faulty electrical boards such as the motherboard, graphics cards etc. I know with bargain parts it's not worth the time but it could well be with parts costing £300+.

There is a chap over in the US who seems extremely busy with those types of repairs and focuses on them alone. It is something I have been looking at for a while now and participating in a few courses to learn the ins and outs of it. Things like motherboards, smaller components/electrical boards could be sent to me for repair then posted back out (not like it's the size of a full size desktop PC).

I know a lot of computer repair places won't do that level of repair so there's another opportunity where they could outsource that can kind of repair to me?

Just after some thoughts really?

Thanks

 

[The Byre]

It all depends on how much effort is involved in the repair - zap with freezer-spray and charge £100 plus VAT pays for the fiddly ones! How does one swap-out components that are SMD?

 

[MBE2017]

My local computer repair shops can repair anything I have thrown at them over two decades, have three guys in my local area, all very good, all highly trained.

I would advise checking there is a market before investing too much, many people simply throw computers away at the first sign of any trouble. I used to repair phones, but most people wanted new ones anyway, so rarely repaired. A lot of teenagers sabotage their items when their friends get better versions, knowing the parents will buy them new ones on the spot.

 

[lesliedocherty]

Hi guys,

I currently have a computer repair/IT support business for small businesses and domestic users.

Just gathering some thoughts on repairing faulty electrical boards such as the motherboard, graphics cards etc. I know with bargain parts it's not worth the time but it could well be with parts costing £300+.

There is a chap over in the US who seems extremely busy with those types of repairs and focuses on them alone. It is something I have been looking at for a while now and participating in a few courses to learn the ins and outs of it. Things like motherboards, smaller components/electrical boards could be sent to me for repair then posted back out (not like it's the size of a full size desktop PC).

I know a lot of computer repair places won't do that level of repair so there's another opportunity where they could outsource that can kind of repair to me?

Just after some thoughts really?

Thanks

Hi,

I've seen the guy on youtube, he seems pretty clued up (and pretty busy), like every niche, there is a customer out there, personally, i love niches

 

[DontAsk]

How does one swap-out components that are SMD?

Very easily with the right equipment, which doesn't have to be expensive. The problem is knowing which component to repair and then getting replacements (still major supply chain issues following COVID)

 

[xjr13m]

Personally I wouldn't consider it a viable niche. Let's say someone sends you a motherboard, you've got to set it up on the bench, try and fault find it by substitution and elimination, then maybe you'll identify a component you think is the problem, replace it but it doesn't fix the problem, and then repeat. If you do fix it, how long will you have spent on it? What will you charge for it? Considering that your customer can buy a brand new half decent motherboard for under £75...

And at the other end of the spectrum, let's say you receive a high end Nvidia graphics card with a faulty GPU, where on earth are you going to be able to buy a single GPU given the current demand for these kind of components?

 

[Financial-Modeller]

Choose a sector where there is value in the repair i.e. expensive components with plenty of margin.

As an example there are lots of control modules / CPUs in cars that will cost >£1k to replace from a dealer, so drivers might be happy to spend the money for you to repair them, rather than an old laptop that can be replaced and upgraded for a couple of hundred pounds.

An eBay search will find companies already doing this for 'volume' manufacturers, so perhaps look elsewhere within the sector. Components for EVs will obviously be the space to be in.

 

[MBE2017]

Choose a sector where there is value in the repair i.e. expensive components with plenty of margin.

As an example there are lots of control modules / CPUs in cars that will cost >£1k to replace from a dealer, so drivers might be happy to spend the money for you to repair them, rather than an old laptop that can be replaced and upgraded for a couple of hundred pounds.

An eBay search will find companies already doing this for 'volume' manufacturers, so perhaps look elsewhere within the sector. Components for EVs will obviously be the space to be in.

Whilst this sounds good, I think you will find the move to preventing such repairs, or making it very hard to do them, will prevent this from working easily. Some manufacturers now are starting to invalidate the whole guarantee of the vehicle if not carried out by themselves or authorised agents, John Deere, Tesla spring to mind. I see this increasingly being the way many manufacturers protect their IP and markets.

Some do manage, a local guy to myself specialises in swapping out, repairing and replacing Prius batteries, all the taxi drivers for hundreds of miles around go to him, he is a fraction of the dealer price.

Worth checking out carefully if you think this is the way forward.

 

[DontAsk]

John Deere are getting a lot of push back and some states are introducing right to repair legislation, despite adult objections it will lead to danger for the children. I believe there's also a right to repair movement in the EU.

 

[DontAsk]

Boiler PCBs are generally easy to repair, but there are already established companies doing it, so you would need to break into the market. Often works on a trade in basis. You buy a reconditioned PCB and send your old one as part payment.

 

[Nico Albrecht]

Just after some thoughts really?

It depends how much money you got to spare to get it off the ground.

Positives: The board repair community is very friendly and happy to help if you treat them with respect if you have questions. Almost the opposite compared to the Linux community which tends to be very aggressive and condescending.

Negatives. You need a lot of money upfront to get started. Even used / refurb tools will cost a bit so £10 - £20K it will cost you to get a decent solder station, a used BGA infrared reflower aka cooker , microscopes, IR cams and all the other goodies such as an Xray machine. Yes, an xray machine to check on your BGA work and eliminate guessing makes a huge difference.

Plus plenty of used boards to practise on. It is not really about skills but more about high quality tools that will make you life better and give you better results. The difference on a £1 solder tip compared to a £50 solder tip is day and night throw in a £500 solder iron and all becomes much easier.

Work wise I would look into those Tesla control unit centre boards. Older ones use nvida newer ones use intel atom cpus , I reckon loads will blow up from nvidia. Next would be the piss poor nand chips they used and wear out it should be doable to replace the BGA nand on them as they will all fail. With retail pricefrom Tesla over 3k a 1k repair seems a good option. those cpus and nand float about everywhere so no isse to get them. Even keep boards and swap with mailed in ones.

All those newer mainboards have soldered ram, CPU and sdd the likes of Apple, Dell XPS's and cost between £500 - 1200 to replace so a £300 repair is reasonable.

As with all things it comes down to schematics you need to pay for for various sources without schematics you are screwed. You can reverse engineer but this will take forever on modern tech so make sure you have access to all the schematics.

I know some board level players in the UK and work wit them together. They make good money but it took them a lot of money and training to get to that point where they can do 20 boards a day repaired.